Access to Information in the Nordic Countries: a comparison of the laws of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland and international rules

Principles of freedom of information require authorities and other
public agencies to provide access to authentic documents and data.
The demand for authenticity is the raison d’être of the right-of-access
principle. This book Access to Information in the Nordic Countries
explains and compares the legal rules determining public access to documents and data in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. In addition,
international rules emanating from the United Nations, the Council of
Europe and the European Union are elucidated.
Free access to public records is crucial to democratic control and partici-
pation. Rules of law and legal practice concerning access and secrecy are
of far-reaching significance to all sectors of society and to the relationship between citizens and the state.
Access to Information in the Nordic Countries demonstrates that, in the five Nordic countries, right-of-access rules are very different and show no
consistent pattern. A country with the best conditions in some areas may
have poor conditions in others.